Keeping a diary
An important form of writing is the personal diary. Writing a diary is an excellent way to keep a record of what you do. You can also record your feelings. Some people write one every day while others produce entries every couple of days or once a week.
Many famous people keep diaries and then publish them for everybody to read. One diary which made an enormous impact was the diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a 13-year-old girl living in Amsterdam when she was given a blank diary in 1942 during the second world war. Soon afterwards, she and her family went into hiding from the German army and, for two years, Anne recorded the thoughts and feelings of a real teenager in a very difficult situation. The fact that she died in a German concentration camp in 1945 makes it a particularly poignant read.
A taxi driver's week
Here is a diary of a Hong Kong Island taxi driver for one week.
Monday: Had a very busy day today. For my first fare, I picked up two tourists at the Mandarin Hotel and took them to Chek Lap Kok airport. Then there were lots of short trips mainly around Central. Four girls wanted to go to the Peak quickly, but road works made the journey take twice as long as usual. Just after lunch, a lady went to the SPCA with her cat and it was very noisy. I had break for 20 minutes and then had some bad luck. An old man travelled from North Point to Chai Wan and then told me he had no money. It took me half an hour to contact his daughter and sort it out. I was annoyed but the man was very apologetic so I forgave him.
Tuesday: Generally a quiet day. Queued up at the Star Ferry for nearly half an hour and then got a fare to Shau Kei Wan. At about 10 o'clock, a businessman had only a $1,000 bill and I had to stop at a shop and get some change. Traffic was very busy in Causeway Bay and I was late for lunch with my friend at our favourite tea house. In the afternoon, a woman left a bag on the back seat so I sounded the horn and she came back and got it. People can sometimes be very careless with their personal possessions! Just as I finished my shift, I noticed that one of
my passengers had spilled some water on the floor.
Wednesday: Great news for me: it was a rainy day. Everybody gets a taxi when the weather is wet. I was very busy and made a lot of money. But I had to be careful because the roads were slippery and many drivers were going too quickly. I saw two accidents in the morning. In one, a van had collided with a people carrier and, in another, two cars had bumped into each other. When I cleaned the taxi cabin at lunchtime, I found five $2 coins and a cigarette lighter under the seat at the back. Late in the afternoon, a passenger tried to light a cigarette and I had to tell her that it was illegal to smoke in a taxi: she was not happy.
Thursday: What a miserable day. Had been working for only a few hours when a motorcycle crashed into me on Conduit Road in Mid-Levels. It took over an hour for the police to sort out the details. Then it took another two hours to repair the door at the garage. I did get some passengers later in the afternoon but they were mostly short journeys. I was glad to get home and relax with my family. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.
Friday: Started the day in Wan Chai and took lots of passengers to work. Went to McDonald's for breakfast and was busy all morning. One passenger left his mobile phone on the seat and I had to take it to the police station. I had to drive to Tsim Sha Tsui through the Harbour Tunnel. I don't like driving in Kowloon as I don't know the roads very well and sometimes get lost. Tomorrow is my day off. I think I'll go to Ocean Park with my two sons.
Glossary
fare (n) - money paid for a journey on public transport
apologetic (adj) - to be sorry
possessions (n) - things that belong to someone
to collide (v) - to bump into
Comprehension
1. What is the name of Hong Kong's international airport two passengers were taken to on Monday?
2. Who travelled from North Point to Wan Chai?
3. What time of day did a businessman try to pay with a $1,000 bill?
4. What day did the taxi driver see two accidents?
5. What crashed into the taxi?
6. On what day did the taxi driver go to McDonald's for breakfast?
7. Where did the taxi driver plan to go on his day off?
Abbreviations
In the diary, the taxi driver wrote that he took a lady to the SPCA. These letters are the initial letters of the words in the title of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This is called an abbreviation. There are lots of well-known abbreviations. See if you know or can work out the following abbreviations.
8. MTR; 9. HKU; 10. KMB; 11. KCR; 12. CUHK
Crossword
A taxi is a form of public transport. Read the clues below and work out the types of public transport and write them in the grid.
List: aeroplane, bus, ferry, tram, minibus, train, hovercraft
1. This transport has two wings and carries lots of people over long distances
2. Travels on tracks between stations carrying passengers in carriages
3. On the sea, this transports people on a cushion of air
4. On the road carrying about 16 passengers
5. Carries people on one or two decks on the road
6. Travels on tracks on roads
7. Public transport on the sea
Answers: 1. Chek Lap Kok; 2. an old man;
3. 10 o'clock; 4. Wednesday; 5. a motorcycle;
6. Friday; 7. Ocean Park; 8. Mass Transit Railway; 9. Hong Kong University; 10. Kowloon Motor Bus Company; 11. Kowloon and Canton Railway; 12. Chinese University of Hong Kong
Crossword: 1. aeroplane; 2. train; 3. hovercraft; 4. minibus; 5. bus; 6. tram; 7. ferry
